An Army is a collection of armed men obliged to obey one man. Every change in the rules which impairs the principle weakens the army.
William Tecumseh ShermanRead
If nominated by either party, I should peremptorily decline, and even if unanimously elected, I should decline to serve.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a refusal to accept a position of power regardless of circumstances.
William Tecumseh Sherman emphasizes the importance of personal choice and integrity in the face of political pressure. By stating he would decline any nomination or election, he highlights a strong stance on not accepting a role that he does not genuinely want, reflecting the values of conviction and moral fortitude in leadership.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of ethical leadership, one could quote Sherman to emphasize the need for integrity in accepting power.
An Army is a collection of armed men obliged to obey one man. Every change in the rules which impairs the principle weakens the army.
Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster.
I think I understand what military fame is; to be killed on the field of battle and have your name misspelled in the newspapers.
The young bloods of the South: sons of planters, lawyers about towns, good billiard-players and sportsmen, men who never did any work and never will... They are splendid riders, first-rate shots and utterly reckless. These men must all be killed or employed by us before we can hope for peace.
You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about.
War is too serious a matter to leave to soldiers.
I know when I was an assistant coach and I started interviewing for head coaching jobs, I actually lost out on many jobs, several jobs, and the complaint that I got was, 'Well, he doesn't fit the mold of a head coach. He doesn't look the part. He's not gonna jump up and down. He's not going to scream.'
As soon as I came in as leader, we had seven weeks to an election, so we had to be entirely focused on the job we had in front of us.
Any leader has to have a certain amount of steel in them, so I am not that put out being called the Iron Lady.
Anytime you get an idea, you need people to help you put it together. That is the beginning of an institution. When you create an institution, levels of authority and boundaries need to be established. If everybody owns it, nobody owns it. If everybody is responsible for it, nobody will be responsible.
The Navy can lose us the war, but only the Air Force can win it. Therefore our supreme effort must be to gain overwhelming mastery in the Air. The Fighters are our salvation . . . but the Bombers alone provide the means of victory. . . . In no other way at present visible can we hope to overcome the immense military power of Germany.
Motivate them, train them, care about them, and make winners out of them... they'll treat the customers right. And if customers are treated right, they'll come back.
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